Yielding suspension for vertical crusher shafts



Oct. 22,1940. R. BERNHARD 2,218,783

YIELDING sUsPENsioN. FOR VERTICAL cRUsHEn SHAFTS Filed Dec. 16. 1938 I @COQ 3:5

"i Panarea on. 22, 1940 y UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE ananas rmmmc sUsrENsioN ron vEa'ncAL causnna smrrs y Richard Bernhard, Allentown, Pa., assignor to Traylor Engineeringr and Manufacturing Company, Allentown, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application 16, 1938, Serial No. 246,246

This invention relates toV vertical crushers of' the type including a rotating or gyratlng cone and a stationary concave between which the material is crushed, and more particularly to a yield- '5 ing suspension for the crusher shaft to which the cone is secured so that the cone may settle or recede without damage to the apparatus when uncrushable substances pass into the` space between the crushing members or by reason of hoking of the crusher by wet or stickymaterial.

An important object of my invention is to provide in an apparatus of the above character a yieldable suspension including aplurality 'of cupshaped elements associated in alternate reversed l5 relation upon the crusher shaft, these elements being composed of heavy gage spring steel and capable of limited yielding movement under heavy pressure. Such cup-shaped elements are adapted to take the place of coil springs which heretofore have been commonly employed to support the crusher shaft but which require means for adjusting their tension for the heavy predetermined carrying capacity. It is diilicult to obtain the necessary high yielding resistance and at the same time a comparatively limited' de- -flectlon with coil springs, for the head descends y too far and the product is, therefore. not uniformly crushed. Furthermore, any coil spring arrangement must necessarily be bulb and so located as to obstruct the feeding of the material into the crusher.

Another object of my invention is to provide a' yieldable suspension a'ording a better balance for the crusher shaft. Such improved balance is attained by reason of continuous bearing contact between the circumferential edges of the com-I panion cup-shaped elements surrounding the shaft, the circular-shaped field of bearing be'- tween companion elements being located a sub- 40 stantial distance from the axis of the crusher shaft, thus alfording more stable support for the shaft. Preferably, the cup-shaped elements are l general type of apparatus, the crusher shaft I 10 carrying the cone or mantle (not shown) which cooperates with the concave (not shown) supported by the machine frame to eifect the crushing of lumpy material such as stone, ore or the like, is vertically suspended at its upper end from 15 a spider 2 forming part of the machine frame. The vertically disposed crusher shaft, the upper end of which extends through a slightly tapered bore 2a in the hub 2b of the spider. is adapted to be gyrated about a fulcrum point located ad- 20 jacent the lower end of the bore by mechanism. not shown. and is supported in a manner such as to be capable of yielding in a longitudinal direction.

The means for yieldingly supporting the crush- 2 5 er shaft are as follows: Threaded upon and keyed to the upper end of the crusher shaft is a nut .I having a cylindrical barrel portion 3a of reduced diameter extending downwardly and telescoping a short distance within a ring I encir- 30 cling the shaft. 'I'he lower face of the ring is of concave form and this concave surface bears upon a complementary formed convex upper surface of a washer or wear plate I, the4 concave-convex bearing surface between these members being 35 developed about the fulcrum point of the shaft. The lower flat face of the washer 5 rests upon a flange 6a seated upon a shoulder 2c formed by an enlargement of the diameter of the upper end of the bore 2a. The flange 6a constitutes part of a 40 bushing i which projects downwardly through the bore and provides a lining therefor. A cap 1 secured to the top of the hub 2b encloses the upper end of the crusher shaft with its associated parts- 45 Interposed between the nut 3 and the ring I and surrounding the crusher shaft are a plurality of pairs of circular cup-shaped elements I made of spring steel. These elements are arranged in alternate reversed relation so that companion elements of each pair of elements .have continuous bearing contact at their outer circumferential edges 9 and the diameter of thesecupshaped elements is preferably such that the circular eld of bearing contact between the elements `is concentric with but spaced outwardly a substantial distance from the longitudinal axis of the crusher shaft. The individual cup-shaped elements are loosely associated with the crusher shaft so as to snugly surround the same, vone pair' of elements resting upon an adjacent pair and contacting along a circle lying close to the circumference of the barrel portion la of thevnut.

As .best shown in Fig. 2 each cup-shaped element 8 is of solid or continuous metal construction except vfor the central aperture 8a through which the crusher shaft is designed to pass, and is of substantial thickness so as to resist deformation except under extremely heavy load.

An upwardly extending casing i0 secured to the circumferential edge of the -ring 4 and enclosing the cup-shaped elements is adapted to be filled with oil or grease.

In the operation of the crusher, the shaft i is freely supported by the pairs of cup-shaped elements 8 assembled upon the upper end of the crusher between the nut 3 and the ring l. As

the shaft gyrates the spherically concave surface of ring 4 will slidev upon the spherically convex surface of washer 5. When an unbreakable substance, such as tramp iron, enters the crushing space between the cone and concave, or by reason of packing of this space by wet or sticky materials, the resulting component of pressure along the crusher shaft causes the cup-shaped elements to atten slightly and allow the shaft to yield in a downward direction and provide a wider space for the obstruction, which allows the tramp iron or packed material to gradually` discharge. IThe yielding support also cushions destructive shocks on the shaft, thus avoiding damage to the apparatus.

The cup-shaped elements by reason of their strength and resistance to deformation during the normal operation of the crusher retain the crusher shaft in raised position with the proper amount of clearance between the cone and concave, thereby insuring uniformity of the crushed product; but when uncrushable substances are encountered the cone and shaft will yield slowly without imposing undue shock upon the crusher shaft or other parts of the apparatus.

'Ihe spring suspension just described requires, no pre-compression of the yieldable elements, such as is necessary in the case of coil springs in order to render them less responsive to small changes in load which occur during the normal crushing operation, but the inherent resistance of the cup-shaped elements themselves is sumcient to sustain the' shaft during operation of the crusher without appreciable deformation of such elements.

Because of the balanced support for thel aaiafzss I y 'crusher shaft, cooking of the nut I with consequent injury to its threads and the threadsV on the shaft, is avoided. The suspension mechanism is comparatively simple and capable of being properly assembled with'the crusher shaft by inexperienced labor.

Instead of associating a plurality of pairs of cup-shaped elements with the crusher shaft, a single element or av single pair of elements may be sumcient in some cases. Manifestly, the invention may be embodied in other forms than that described above, which is to be regarded as exemplary rather than as restrictive of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a crusher of the gyratory type having a vertical crusher shaft carrying a cone adapted to cooperate with a concave surrounding the cone for crushing material introduced into the concave and a concavo-convex bearing encircling, supporting the crusher shaft for movement about a center of gyration located adjacent the upper end of the crusher shaft, and means providing a yielding suspension for the crusher shaft said means comprising an abutment upon the crusher shaft, a plurality of reversely arranged cup-shaped elements of spring metal completely encircling the crusher shaft and interposed intermediate the bearing and said abutment, said cup-shaped elements being capable of sustaining the weight of the crusher shaft and cone without permanent distortion and capable of limited flexing to allow the shaft to yield under excessive crushing resistances.

2. 'Ihe combination with a gyratory crusher of the type comprising a stationary frame, a vertical shaft located within the frame, a cone carried by the shaft, a concave supported by the frame and surrounding the cone and means for imparting gyratory motion to the shaft for causing the cone to roll against and crush material in the crushing space between the cone and concave, of a pair of bearing members having complemental concave-convex bearing faces supported within the frame and encircling the shaft above the fulcrumpolnt of the shaft, a nut secured upon the shaft and telescopically arranged with reference to one of said bearing members, and means for yieldingly supporting the shaft relative to the frame, said means comprising a pair of annular cup-shaped elements of spring metal each completely encircling the shaft and interposed between the nut and the pair of bearing members, said elements being arranged in reverse relation with their circumferential edges in substantially continuous bearing contact.

RICHARD BERNHARD.

- CERTIFICATE 4oF CORRECTION; 'Patent No, 2,218,785. oCCobe'r 22,1191@ .RICHARD BERNHARD..

It is hereby Certified vthat lerror appears inV the printed vspecification of the above numbered patent requiring Correcticn'x as follows: Page 2, second Celumn, line 20, claim 1, for' the words "concave and read -Concave,;

line A21, seine claim, strike out the Acomme. -after the syllable "cling" and insert instead and and that the said Letters Patent shouldbe read with l .this correct-,ien therein that the same may 4confonn tothe record of the case' .in the Patent' Office.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of November, A. D. 1911.0.

Henry Van Arsclale,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

